WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue athletics department unveiled the Boilermaker Social Rewards program today in conjunction with the start of the 2012-13 athletics calendar. The free program, launched in partnership with Lodestone Sports, is the first of its kind in the Big Ten Conference and offers fans the chance to win prizes by supporting Purdue teams in social media.

In its first year, the program will be broken up into three competition segments, the first running from Friday, Aug. 17, to Monday, Nov. 5, and focusing mainly on the Purdue football, volleyball and soccer seasons. The entrant that scores the most points over this period wins two tickets to all nine of the Purdue men's basketball team's home Big Ten Conference games this winter, in addition to an iPad. Second prize is four Shively Club seats at Ross Ade Stadium for the Old Oaken Bucket game against Indiana on Nov. 24, and third prize is an autographed ball from the Purdue coach of their choosing.

Mark Drosos, President of Lodestone Sports, commented, "We are proud to have such a fantastic program like Purdue Athletics as a partner. Their commitment to social media will prove to create an even stronger bond between the school and their fans while creating new relationships with local sports fans."

To get enrolled in the program, fans can visit BoilermakerSocialRewards.com and sign up for free, connecting the social media accounts of their choosing. To begin the contest, the competition will be focused on Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and YouTube, providing opportunities to score points on all four platforms. Examples of point-scoring opportunities include liking Purdue Athletics posts on Facebook, sending tweets with the #BoilerUp hashtag and sharing PurdueSports YouTube videos.

In addition to the grand prizes, Boilermaker Social Rewards eventually will feature a points store, where fans can redeem points for chances to win exclusive Purdue memorabilia and apparel. The opening of the points store is yet to be determined.